


From Me to We

by magelette



Category: Rainbow Brite
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-20
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 18:20:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/600754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magelette/pseuds/magelette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even if the team includes his best friend, Krys still has some trouble adjusting to life in Rainbow Land.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From Me to We

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crescent_gaia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crescent_gaia/gifts).



Krys slowly relaxed his body, letting his arm fall to his side. Even though it had just been a minor skirmish against Murky and Lurky and one of their stupid plans, the old battle adrenaline had still tensed his body to the point of stiffness. He rotated his right wrist, where he still wore the Prism, and sighed. Once again, Rainbow’s faultless tactics had foiled Murky’s plot. Once again, the Color Kids had worked as a seamless unit to discover what Murky was up to, and how to stop him. Once again, Krys had stood as Rainbow’s second, ready to execute any order or offer up a suggestion to help win the day. But when Buddy Blue thumped his shoulder with a, “Nice job, pal!” and Lala Orange giggled encouragingly at him from behind her hands, Krys couldn’t help feeling let down. Rainbow flashed her usual brilliant smile at him as he went past and didn’t question his excuse to “see to On-X.” She took it for granted that his horse required the same care as her silly horse. Starlight was smart and fun to ride, but On-X was also the only part that remained of Krys’ former life.

It was different, here. Here in Rainbow Land, he had quarters right next to Rainbow’s and a seat at the table where they all ate dinner every night. He didn’t have sprites or a second of Rainbow Land assigned to him to patrol, but the Color Kids seemed to accept him as some kind of second-in-command. Even Stormy didn’t give him too much trouble. It was still strange to see Red and Buddy give in so quickly to what Rainbow Brite said, always supporting her, but every time he looked at Rainbow, he could see why. She was a leader. She was a good leader. Sometimes she was even brilliant. Being a part of something just took some getting used to, after fighting on his own for so long. On-X was more auxiliary than a comrade in arms, unlike Starlight, who had attitude of his own. And his quarters here were worlds away from the spartan hut he’d called home on Spectra. He couldn’t remember a life before guarding Spectra, and while he really was enjoying life in Rainbow Land, he still missed the quiet sometimes. At least the sprites on Spectra knew that he liked to be alone. Here, they chased him constantly, wanting to hear about the great Orin and ask about their relatives up there. They were more of a nuisance than anything else, which was why he said no every time Twink offered to assign him some as assistants.

“Krys?” Rainbow’s voice cut into his daydreaming. “What’re you doing out here?”

He looked around in surprise. Somehow, Krys had found himself near the star sprinkle mines. Rule number one of patrol was to never get lost in your own head so that you weren’t aware of your surroundings. Orin would’ve thumped him on the head for that. Or the glitterbots would’ve gotten him.

“I was just…looking for On-X,” Krys answered, looking down at his feet.

Rainbow Brite fell into step beside him, and he noticed once again that she was shorter than he was. He forgot that sometimes. Like all great leaders, Rainbow tended to walk tall and appear larger than she actually was. She could be more than a little intimidating. Except when the sunlight fell just right on her hair and made it sparkle more than Spectra, all gold and shiny.

“What’s wrong, Krys? You didn’t come to debrief like you usually do.” 

The word ‘debrief’ sounded strange coming from her mouth. Here in Rainbow Land, they didn’t handle skirmishes the way it had been done on Spectra. In all the great books that Orin had had Krys read, and in all the stories he’d heard, the great warriors had always debriefed after a battle, so they could figure out what had gone right and what had gone wrong. It was something Krys had implemented after Spectra. While Murky Dismal was incredibly inept, there was a chance that one of his plans would succeed one day. And there were always greater dangers trying to rid the universe of color and light. They had to be prepared. The other Color Kids had laughed at first, but Krys had won them over quickly enough. Especially after a debrief after a particularly messy encounter with Murky and Lurky meant that they’d been able to catch him sneaking into the star sprinkle mines that much easier the next time, since Murky was nothing if not predictable.

“It’s just…” He trailed off, not wanting to complain to his commander, but wanting to confide in his friend. His friend, a girl. His best friend, if he was honest. Better even than On-X, since conversation with On-X could be kinda limited sometimes.

Rainbow’s small hand found his and squeezed it. “It’s just…?” she asked, looking up at him with those blue eyes.

“It’s a lot, sometimes, y’know?” He looked around at the chaos of the mine, with hordes of sprites running around in some kind of chaotic dance of color. “So many people. Everywhere.”

There had been sprites on Spectra. There had been other people on Spectra. But he’d spent most of his time either on patrol, or dodging glitterbots, when he wasn’t studying under Orin. Adjusting to the constant noise and bustle still took some getting used to.

Rainbow smiled at him. “Getting a little overwhelmed? Sometimes I have to get away sometimes. Just ride off with Starlight and find some peace.” She patted her belt. “It’s just a rainbow away.”

Peace was just a flight away, and his horse didn’t even need a stupid rainbow to get there. But he wasn’t going to tell her that. Or the fact that he didn’t want to leave her alone. He trusted the Color Kids and all the inhabitants of Rainbow Land, but you never knew sometimes. As capable as she was, there was someone out there who probably could get the drop on Rainbow Brite. And he didn’t want to take his chances that something would happen to her on his watch. Not on his best friend. His friend, who was a girl.

Swallowing his pride and all those feelings of turmoil, he smiled back at her, and was rewarded with a squeeze to his hand. “I know. I’ll let you know if I ever need to run away. I’ll have On-X tell Starlight.”

“Or tell me, and Starlight and I can tag along.” Her smile faltered a little bit. “If you want us to.”

“I always want you there, Rainbow,” he blurted out. His face burned as red as his hair. “It’s just…everyone else.”

“So we’ll set aside time for our own adventures then, yeah?” She tugged on his hand, pulling him along beside her as they made their way back to the Color Castle.

He couldn’t help grinning a little. “Yeah.”

Before they reached the side entrance, Rainbow tugged on his hand again, turning him toward her. “You know you can talk to me, right?” she said softly. “About anything. Anytime.”

He nodded. “I know. I will. I promise.”

She leaned up and kissed his cheek, something no commanding officer would do – in his experience. “Good. Let’s go have lunch, and then we can debrief.”

He was still adapting to life in Rainbow Land, but Krys had his hopes for the future. It looked pretty good, especially if he got to spend it at the side of Rainbow Brite.


End file.
